1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to baseball/softball equipment bags, and more particularly to bags adapted to hang from a fence.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the ever popular sports of baseball and softball, a variety of equipment bags have been made and marketed to store, carry and transport an individual player's baseball or softball equipment to and from a player's house to the playing field.
Baseball equipment bags have become more sophisticated with time. The early prior art bags were typically an elongated duffel or roll-type bag having a zippered opening and an elongated storage compartment for storing the player's equipment This type of bag is popular because of its soft-sided feature which makes it easy to store and transport. The player's equipment typically includes at a minimum a bat, a ball glove, one or more balls, a cap, and playing shoes. Many players will also carry additional equipment, as for example a batting glove, glasses, a scorebook or pine tar, to name but a few. Additionally, it may be desirable to carry the player's shirt, pants and a towel in the bag for convenience. Thus, a variety of items may typically be carried in the player's bag. The plain elongated duffel or roll-type bag with one elongated compartment fails to keep the various items in any semblance of organization in the equipment bag making it difficult for the player to keep items segregated and inconvenient for the player to find things within the bag.
The problems associated with segregating the items and finding things within the bag have been partially resolved by including pouches and/or pockets attached to the inside and/or outside of the bag. Typically, the pouches or pockets have an opening which closes by means of a zipper, elastic or VELCRO hook and loop fasteners. VELCRO is a registered trademark of Velcro Industries B.V. The present baseball equipment bags typically include a segregated and separate bat compartment for housing one or more bats with access to the bats being provided solely by means of a zippered bat opening. Additionally, the present bags typically include a clip at one end of the elongated bag for hanging the bag from a chain link fence. The hanging feature allows the player to store the bag off of the dirt or ground during the ball game.
While the present baseball equipment bags do provide segregation and more convenience than the early single compartment duffel bags, it is desirable to have a baseball equipment bag having interior shelves to provide quick and convenient access to stored items when the bag is hanging vertically from a chain link fence. It is further desirable that the baseball equipment bag be flexible to provide convenient storage or transport of the bag. It is also desirable that the baseball equipment bag have a removable panel to provide substantial exposure of the shelves when hanging from a fence. It is further desirable to have a removable panel which can be removed from the bag to facilitate the application of commercial printing thereon. It is also desirable to have a bat compartment which allows the bat or bats to be accessed from either of two openings.